Federal Appeals Court Denies Class-Action Tobacco Suit

Federal Appeals Court Denies Class-Action Tobacco Suit

Article excerpt

NEW ORLEANS -- In a huge victory for the tobacco industry, a
federal appeals court Thursday rejected a class-action liability suit
brought against cigarette manufacturers on behalf of millions of
smokers across the country.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
unanimously agreed with industry arguments that a case of such
magnitude would be too unwieldy.

The lawsuit had the potential to be the biggest class-action case
in history, embracing practically anyone who claimed to be hooked on
cigarettes and exposing the tobacco industry to billions of dollars
in claims.

It accuses the industry of concealing knowledge that nicotine is
addictive and manipulating nicotine levels to keep smokers hooked.

Under the appeals court ruling, the case can still go forward as a
lawsuit on behalf of the original plaintiffs -- three smokers and
Dianne Castano, whose husband died of lung cancer.

The lawsuit was filed in 1994 against the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco
Co., American Tobacco Co., Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., Philip
Morris USA, Lorillard Corp., United States Tobacco, the Liggett Group
and the industry's lobbying arm, the Tobacco Institute.

Liggett, the smallest of the nation's major tobacco companies,
broke ranks in March and agreed to settle, pledging to dedicate some
of its profits over 25 years to pay for stop-smoking
programs.However, Liggett reserved the right to back out of the deal
if the class-action was nullified.

In a statement, Brown & Williamson hailed the ruling as "a strong
message to class-action plaintiffs' lawyers to stop the insanity in
our nation's courts."

The plaintiffs' attorneys said that they haven't decided whether
to appeal but that they plan to file numerous class-action lawsuits
in state courts to keep the pressure on the industry.

"If anything, the process is going to move ahead aggressively and
become increasingly challenging for the tobacco defendants, because
they'll have more fronts to fight," attorney Cliff Douglas said. …